Warner: A local baseball battle heats up

When I was growing up in Southern California, the Angels were the equivalent of fast food for baseball fans.

It was easier, quicker and cheaper to go see a game at the Big A. But for a true, quality sit-down version of the game, you had to make the drive to Chavez Ravine to see the Dodgers.

During the '60s and '70s, the Dodgers ran hot and cold. But the Angels were consistently frigid. The Dodgers would battle for the pennant. The Angels would try to avoid the cellar. When there was parity between the teams, it was in how bad they could be. Then came the Angels' division championship in 1979 and things began to change, culminating with the 2002 World Series triumph that redefined the baseball neighborhood.

Today, the two teams are locked in an arms (and bats) race to stockpile the most star talent. The Angels have brought in Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, Josh Hamilton and perhaps the best of the lot, homegrown Mike Trout. After several sad years as the personal piggy bank of Frank McCourt, the new Dodgers ownership is trying to turn the team around in record time. They hauled in a horde of Red Sox last year and added the Angels' No. 2 pitcher, Zack Greinke, in the offseason.

Their bank accounts flush with new TV deals, the Angels and Dodgers have become baseball's big spenders, eclipsing the usual wallet war between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Unless both teams make it to the World Series, the winner of the competition won't be decided on the field, but at the turnstiles and on TVs.

Before they head into the regular season, the stockpiles of talent are on display in the Valley of the Sun, home to spring training's Cactus League. Just about now, the lazy spring training days of intersquad games and shagging fungoes in the Arizona morning heat are giving way to games against other teams, with starting jobs and roster spots on the line.

There's still time to fly or drive down to Phoenix. Opening day is almost a month away.

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